Hollow Knight Boss Order — Recommended Progression Route

The recommended Hollow Knight boss order: the main path from False Knight to the Radiance, which bosses are optional, and when to fight dream variants.

10/8/2026 v1.5.12620 Last updated: 10/8/2026 3 min read

FAQ

What is the first boss in Hollow Knight?

The False Knight in the Forgotten Crossroads — technically skippable by breaking the left wall after his first rage, but every first playthrough should fight him for the Geo and the lesson.

Which Hollow Knight bosses are optional?

Most of them: Mantis Lords, Dung Defender, Brooding Mawlek, the Collector, Nosk, Flukemarm, Hive Knight, all Warrior Dreams, Troupe Master and Nightmare King Grimm, and every Pantheon fight. The required core is small: False Knight is even skippable, but the Dreamers and the Hollow Knight aren't.

When should I fight Nightmare King Grimm?

After the Dreamers, once you have Shade Cloak and a Channelled Nail at minimum — he's a dream fight (no Geo loss on death) but he's one of the fastest bosses in the game.

What order unlocks all endings?

Any route works — endings depend on Void Heart and the Dream Nail, not boss order. If you want the basic ending too, fight the Hollow Knight before taking the Void Heart; otherwise it's locked out on that save.

Hollow Knight is deliberately non-linear — but some bosses gate abilities, and some walls hurt less in a sane order. This is the route that keeps every fight fair, with optionals flagged.

What’s the recommended main-path order?

False Knight (Forgotten Crossroads) — the tutorial wall. Teaches telegraphs.
Gruz Mother (Crossroads, optional but easy) — early Geo.
Hornet Protector (Greenpath) — unlocks the Mothwing Cloak dash.
Mantis Lords (Fungal Wastes, optional-ish) — wins you the Mantis Village’s respect and its treasure route; the fight itself is the best pattern-reading teacher in the game.
Soul Master (City of Tears — Soul Sanctum) — awards Desolate Dive; expect the fake-out.
Crystal Guardian (Crystal Peak) — also unlocks the Enraged Guardian rematch, which drops a Mask Shard.
Dung Defender (Royal Waterways, optional but recommended) — opens Isma’s Grove path.
Watcher Knights (Watcher’s Spire, City of Tears) — guards Dreamer Lurien; the game’s first real squad fight.
The Hive Knight / Nosk / Broken Vessel — late-optional cleanup; Broken Vessel (Ancient Basin) specifically unlocks the double-jump Monarch Wings and is worth prioritizing.
Dreamer Herrah (Deepnest) and Monomon (Teacher’s Archive) — the other two seals.
The Hollow Knight (Temple of the Black Egg) — the ending fight; which ending depends on your Void Heart and Dream Nail choices.

When do the dream bosses fit?

Dream fights don’t cost Geo on death — they’re free practice labs:

Soul Tyrant, Failed Champion, Lost Kin — dream-nail the corpse after their real fights; best done after nail upgrade #2.
Nightmare King Grimm — the Grimm Troupe’s secret finale; slot him after the Dreamers with Shade Cloak in hand.
The Radiance — the true final boss; do it once you’ve seen the normal ending.

What about the optional side modes?

The Colosseum of Fools (top of Kingdom’s Edge) is three escalating trials — Trial of the Conqueror pays a Pale Ore, which feeds straight into nail upgrades. The Pantheons in Godhome are the post-game boss rush and the road to Absolute Radiance — save them for after Dream No More.

TL;DR — if you’re stuck right now

Can’t progress in Crossroads → False Knight.
Greenpath locked → Hornet.
Need wall-jump → Mantis Village’s claw, then decide if the Lords are worth it tonight.
Endgame gate unclear → count your Dreamers, then check the boss list gaps — Hallownest hides two of them deep.